PETALING JAYA: The police will not hesitate to act against errant members of the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela), or those from the Civil Defence Department (JPAM) who are also Police Volunteer Reserve (PVR) members.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the police would not hesitate to take severe action against those who abused their powers, including withdrawing the powers.
“Before being appointed, they (Rela and JPAM members) were trained for three weeks, according to standard operating procedures (SOP) of the Royal Malaysian Police.
“During the course, they are briefed on the legal aspects and limits of police power,” he told reporters after attending a police conference here yesterday.
Recently, the government implemented the Blue Ocean Strategy to increase the number of policemen on the streets to prevent crimes by enlisting the assistance of staff of government agencies, such as Rela and JPAM.
The method is in line with the Government Transformation Programme to reduce crimes in the country to achieve objectives of the National Key Result Areas (NKRA).
Ismail said PVRs were not accorded with full powers of a policeman, adding that the police would still head any joint patrol.
“We will evaluate their assistance and if it brings good results, we will implement more joint patrols, if required,” he said, apart from targeting to increase them to 60,000 members, compared to the current 20,000. — Bernama